Nankana Sahib Attack Reprehensible, 'Love + Mutual Respect + Understanding' Only Solution: Rahul Gandhi

Amid outrage over mob attack on Nankana Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan, former Congress chief and Wayanad lawmaker Rahul Gandhi on Saturday condemned the attack. Gandhi took to Twitter and said, “The attack on Nankana Sahab is reprehensible & must be condemned unequivocally . Bigotry is a dangerous, age old poison that knows no borders.” Giving out a solution for the issue, Gandhi further said, “Love + Mutual Respect + Understanding is its only known antidote (sic).” The statement came a day after reports emerged from Pakistan about attack on the revered holy site.

The attack on Nankana Sahab is reprehensible & must be condemned unequivocally .

Bigotry is a dangerous, age old poison that knows no borders.

Love + Mutual Respect + Understanding is its only known antidote.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 4, 2020

Hundreds of angry Muslim residents reportedly targeted the Gurdwara and surrounded it threatening to destroy the structure. The reports said that the mob was led by the family of Mohammad Ehsaan, the boy who allegedly abducted and converted Sikh girl Jagjit Kaur, who is the daughter of the gurdwara's pathi. The violent mob finally dispersed after police released Ehsaan, the man who had allegedly abducted the Sikh girl.

Later, the Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement over the incident. "We are concerned at the vandalism carried out at the revered Nankana Sahib Gurdwara today. Members of the minority Sikh community have been subjected to acts of violence in the holy city of Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Shri Guru Nanak Dev ji,"

"These reprehensible actions followed the forcible abduction and conversion of Jagjit Kaur, the Sikh girl who was kidnapped from her home in the city of Nankana Sahib in August last year," it added.

"India strongly condemns these wanton acts of destruction and desecration of the holy place," the MEA said.

Pakistan government rejected reports that Gurdwara Nanakana Sahib, also known as the Gurdwara Janam Asthan, the site where the first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak, was born, was attacked by certain groups. In a midnight statement, Pakistan Foreign Office said it was told by the provincial authorities in the Punjab province that there was a scuffle between two Muslim groups near the holiest Sikh site on Friday.